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Nov 2023 Mod notice:


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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Falrinn Since: Dec, 2014
#335901: Oct 28th 2020 at 4:57:47 PM

[up][up][up]

It's illegal unless congress signs off on it, which as I've mentioned they have done twice in the past. The states of Maine and West Virginia wouldn't exist today if it was flatly illegal under all circumstances.

My thought is that a political environment where Texas wants to break up and the Supreme Court is willing to agree with the interpretation that Texas was granted that right in perpetuity is probably also an environment where Congress would sign off on a Texas breakup, rendering the whole issue moot.

Edited by Falrinn on Oct 28th 2020 at 4:58:10 AM

Nerevarine Since: Mar, 2016
#335902: Oct 28th 2020 at 4:58:17 PM

The city of DC also has more people than the entire state of Wyoming and yet gets no representation in the senate or the house.

Edited by Nerevarine on Oct 28th 2020 at 4:59:00 AM

MichaelKatsuro Since: Apr, 2011
#335903: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:01:54 PM

[up][up]Wait, there's a West Virginia too? Hooboy, you learn something new every day...

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#335904: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:08:02 PM

Also known as, "Fuck you, you slaving traitors: The State."

It's my other home state.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Oct 28th 2020 at 5:08:19 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#335905: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:15:22 PM

Yeah West Virginia used to be the sane rational one, then coal started dying and the DC commuter zone expanded into Virginia, and the two swapped.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Falrinn Since: Dec, 2014
#335906: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:19:18 PM

[up][up] Yeah, the succession of West Virginia from Virginia was very much a product of the divisions of the Civil War not falling precisely on state lines.

My understanding is that there was also a chance of Tennessee breaking up during the war, but it never quite materialized. Nevertheless there's a reason that Tennessee became the only former confederate state to ratify the 13th Amendment (the one that permanently abolished slavery for the non-US posters in the thread) in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War.

Edited by Falrinn on Oct 28th 2020 at 5:26:51 AM

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#335907: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:26:06 PM

I have wondered if Washington not being an official state was due to some attempt making the capital neutral ground and that it above the ideas of statehood,or something,that it bears Washington's name might have something to do with it

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
nova92 Since: Apr, 2020
#335908: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:26:51 PM

Two new decisions from the Supreme Court related to the counting of absentee ballots (or perhaps more accurately, the decision to not make a decision)

Raleigh News & Observer: US Supreme Court keeps Nov. 12 deadline for NC to accept mailed-in absentee ballots

The new deadline for mail-in ballots to be received is Nov. 12, though ballots must still be postmarked on or before Nov. 3, Election Day. The previous deadline for ballots to be received by local boards was Nov. 6, as set by state lawmakers.

CNN: Supreme Court won't expedite latest GOP challenge to Pennsylvania mail-in ballot rules

This means the case won't be decided before the election, and so current rules, i.e. allowing "the counting of ballots received up to three days after the election, even if there is no legible postmark." will stand.


Both cases were appeals of lower court rulings. Justice Barrett didn't participate in either case. Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch dissented in the first but agreed with the second.

ShinyCottonCandy Everyone's friend Malamar from Lumiose City (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Everyone's friend Malamar
#335909: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:27:06 PM

Well, back then, DC didn’t have any residents other than the office-holders, so it didn’t need statehood.

My musician page
nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#335910: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:32:59 PM

Did you actually not know that West Virginia existed?

[up][up]That last one strikes me as less reassuring than it does a strong indicator that the Supreme Court is waiting to see whether Trump loses Pennsylvania by a close enough margin that late mail-in ballots matter.

(I'm beating a dead horse at this point, but it seriously cannot be overstated how much the courts are Trump's most plausible means to "victory". Not to say he doesn't have a legit Electoral College path, but it's pretty narrow.)

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#335911: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:40:18 PM

"Nevertheless there's a reason that Tennessee became the only former confederate state to ratify the 13th Amendment (the one that permanently abolished slavery for the non-US posters in the thread) in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War."

Nitpick, but Louisiana ratified it before Tennessee, and Arkansas ratified just after Tennessee did. All three states had strong Union occupation forces in the latter half of the war, so their state governments were already being set up for Reconstruction and the 13th Amendment by extention.

RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#335912: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:40:18 PM

I have wondered if Washington not being an official state was due to some attempt making the capital neutral ground and that it above the ideas of statehood,or something,that it bears Washington's name might have something to do with it

The land for it was literally taken out of existing states to provide a neutral capital.

The problem is that now there's so many people within its boundaries that you have this representation problem and nobody wants to take it back, but it's entirely possible to shrink the reserved land itself to only include federal buildings.

Republicans have complained this would give the new state undue influence over politicians by having the car parks. Seriously.

MichaelKatsuro Since: Apr, 2011
#335913: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:45:11 PM

Honest to Zuul, I did not know West Virginia existed. I thought that when John Denver sings "West Virginia," he was simply talking about the non-Eastern part of Virginia.

I'm from Europe, and in general we don't spend a lot of time talking about individual U.S. states. We don't hear West Virginia mentioned a lot of the time, and when we do, it's not mentioned that it's a state and not just a part of Virginia.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#335914: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:55:19 PM

Speaking of shrinking the federal district, isn’t that how DC would become a state? Wouldn't that also end up with the president (the only resident of the now shrunken federal district) having 3 electoral votes? Or would they not, because they’d probably not be able to find three district residents eligible to be electors?

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Falrinn Since: Dec, 2014
#335915: Oct 28th 2020 at 5:56:57 PM

[up][up] That's understandable.

It is the only state that has a cardinal direction it's name without it's counterpart having it as well.

Presumably because the unionist Virginia politicians who got together to declare themselves the legitimate government of Virginia during the Civil War in order to authorize the succession of West Virginia felt that forcing the part of the state still in rebellion to change it's name to "East Virginia" would be a bit much.

[up] Shrinking the Federal district to just Federal buildings is a mutually exclusive with DC statehood.

...though it does raise the possibility that shrinking the district without repealing the 23rd Amendment would result in the President and any member of his family living in the White House (plus the VP who has their own official residence in DC) would have sole control over the 3 electors of DC.

Edited by Falrinn on Oct 28th 2020 at 6:01:42 AM

Kaiseror Since: Jul, 2016
#335918: Oct 28th 2020 at 6:39:18 PM

I can't remember, when the elections end November 3rd do they announce the president or do they only say who won after the votes finished being counted several weeks later?

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#335919: Oct 28th 2020 at 6:42:04 PM

No matter what, the states don't even verify results until December.

It's the polling experts at media outlets that declare probable victors as results tickle in.

Edited by Rationalinsanity on Oct 28th 2020 at 10:42:44 AM

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
RainingMetal (Handed A Sword) Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#335920: Oct 28th 2020 at 6:44:20 PM

You'd think they'd rename West Virgina after the Civil War to reduce confusion, or to sound less tacky.

ASAB: All Sponsors Are Bad.
Resileafs I actually wanted to be Resileaf Since: Jan, 2019
I actually wanted to be Resileaf
#335921: Oct 28th 2020 at 6:45:42 PM

The count during election day is usually enough to declare a victor because it's rare that the proportion of votes changes dramatically as they get counted over the days, unless the race is tight in a given region.

This election promises to be very different because of the proportion of people who voted early or by mail-in ballots.

RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#335922: Oct 28th 2020 at 6:56:11 PM

[up] Shrinking the Federal district to just Federal buildings is a mutually exclusive with DC statehood.

No it isn't. You shrink the Federal district, then you take the rest of the land and parcel it up into a new state that serves as an exclave around the Federal buildings. And contains the car parks.

Codafett Knows-Many-Things Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Waiting for you *wink*
Knows-Many-Things
#335923: Oct 28th 2020 at 6:56:43 PM

I'm just happy I'm off that week. I do not want hear all the passive aggressive whining from....whoever.

Just Having Fun
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#335924: Oct 28th 2020 at 7:40:57 PM

You'd think they'd rename West Virgina after the Civil War to reduce confusion, or to sound less tacky.

To underscore how fucked America was after Lincoln's assassination, Virginia petitioned to have W. Virginia re-absorbed under Johnson. Virginia planned to punish those who had been involved in it for their "illegal secession" as well as implement large numbers of brutal racial laws that had been overturned by West Virginia.

West Virginia said fuck off.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Oct 28th 2020 at 7:41:43 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#335925: Oct 28th 2020 at 7:46:47 PM

Has anyone ever considered merging states with low populations with each other or denser states? That could help quite a lot already with mismatched representation of states, I think.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times

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